hey, guys, just so you know,
this has been addressed in update 115 (currently in beta)
I apologize for those losses, they are not intended.

rubble no longer spawns in doorways that prevent you from returning. (same thing goes for short-circuit traps)
also, high level of "spelunker" skill will now remove rubble, and there's an artifact and a suit that do it too!

That's cool. It's actually a logical death, but it is sad and ideally you'd get some small chance to be able to dig out before the air runs out. Having nothing to do while the air runs out is sad - I guess I just hold down the 0 key.

One idea might be to have an "abort" command available, where everyone tries whatever they can to escape back to the shuttle, and each crew or officer gets 1/10 the listed survival chance (or maybe level/10 x the listed survival chance, or (10+level)/10 for the captain, if present to somehow, some way make it back to the shuttle and escape. That could be used for any seemingly-helpless situation.

hey, guys, just so you know,
this has been addressed in update 115 (currently in beta)
I apologize for those losses, they are not intended.

rubble no longer spawns in doorways that prevent you from returning. (same thing goes for short-circuit traps)
also, high level of "spelunker" skill will now remove rubble, and there's an artifact and a suit that do it too!

Patch 1.2.0.
Query: I just had the opportunity to promote my Planetary Officer who already has Spelunker, but there was no Spelunker-2 option listed. Is it tied to some specific amount of XP, or combination of other skills? He had 4 other skills (which puts him about 11K of XP IIRC). (I wound up filling the sixth slot instead.)

Just an FYI: I had a cave-in trap block the way back to the entry stairs (not the stairs themselves), but was able to get to the next level down. However, taking stairs back out just took me back to the "blocked route" level. So a cave-in can still trap your party if you can't get down to a teleport. And I have found levels where "rubble" blocks the access to the stairs to the next level down, which I can see. (Haven't found the "rubble clearing" artifact or suit as yet.)

Another major "blocker" threat are "Puffers". They can spawn multiple copies when destroyed. When there are several, then they seem to go into a spawning frenzy and can pack an area, while inflicting damage on you. Once you get injured enough they can become a major threat to existence.

I've just started to encounter "Rad Rats" which also seem to appear in clumps. So far they don't seem to have a spawning frenzy to match the "Puffers", but they do pop into existence like "blobs" on the surface, often just where you killed one. And unlike the "Puffers", they move.

-Dubious-

__________________
All sources are dubious until their reliabilty has been repeatedly proven. Even then their information should be independently verified.
- The unwritten spooks handbook

Ya Puffers can be dangerous. I almost always try to avoid them, though some weapons can be fairly effective against them. Rad Rats can also get out of hand. At least there is a chance against those that you can do something about. Well, you can avoid cave-ins too if you are extra cautious, but not once sealed in without the new abilities.

Another major "blocker" threat are "Puffers". They can spawn multiple copies when destroyed. When there are several, then they seem to go into a spawning frenzy and can pack an area, while inflicting damage on you. Once you get injured enough they can become a major threat to existence.

-Dubious-

Gotta Agree. I hesitate to complain about a detail like this, because (firstly) different folks like different details/features/challenges; and (secondly) a game like this is so addictive and satisfying, that a small annoyance isn't usually a big issue ...

But, that said, I have come to find puffers (especially now in version 1.2) to be annoying and tiresome. At best they are tiresome. There simply seem to be too many, on too many levels, in too many caves. I think they should be seen less frequently.

At worst, they are really annoying, when they spawn so rabidly, that they make the difference between surviving, or losing an Away Team. Okay -- they are a legitimate danger (and there have be such things); but couldn't we at least see them less frequently? As a matter of fine-tuning the game, to make it more *FUN*, I would recommend reducing their frequency. Just a suggestion, but if enough people feel this way, maybe they really should be "nerfed"